Elmore Leonard recovering from stroke, publicist says

In 1999, novelist Elmore Leonard signs copies of his book Be Cool at the former Liberties in Boca Raton. Photo: Richard Graulich, Palm Beach Post

Elmore Leonard, a novelist who has lived in Palm Beach County and set several of his books here, has suffered a stroke, news reports and his website says.

Greg Sutter, Leonard’s veteran researcher, said it happened a week ago and he is still in a Detroit-area hospital. “He’s doing better every day and the family is guardedly optimistic,” Sutter told The Detroit News. Leonard is 87 and was “working very hard” on his 46th novel, Sutter said.

At one time, Leonard, whose main residence is in the Detroit suburbs, owned a condo in northern Palm Beach County and spent winters here. Many of his crime novels have been set here — “Maximum Bob,” about a hard-case Palm Beach County judge; “Out Of Sight,” which features a jail break from the Glades Correctional Institution; “Rum Punch,” about a Palm Beach County bail bondsman who helps a flight attendant sting the feds and “Stick,” about ex-con Ernest Stickley. “La Brava” also has scenes set in Delray Beach.

Many of his novels have been made into movies and TV series. “Rum Punch” was transplanted from scenes such as downtown West Palm and The Gardens mall to Los Angeles when Quentin Tarantino adapted it into “Jackie Brown,” starring Pam Grier and Robert Forster.